Reading this book 60 years after it was written, the wisdom within it resonates even more today than it did all those years ago. Henry Miller is a genius, observing the nuances of modern day life with sharp eyes and a fine touch of comedy. While the setting of this book is in Big Sur, and he discusses the beauty and serenity of the nature, this book mainly focuses on character studies and how they relate to humanity as a whole. I consider Miller to be the greatest writer I have ever read, and you can see the evolution of his style into clean and thoughtful prose, as opposed to the aggressively zig zagging styles in his books from 20 years earlier. Overall, this is one of my favourite works, and an easy read for all to enjoy and learn from.

For the most part, I skimmed this book, the way you might drop in and out of the rambling soliloquy of a long-winded individual who's sufficiently compelling to hold your interest in parts, but sometimes you just need to come up for air. The exception is the third section, Paradise Lost, which I read more or less in its entirety, since it cast the riveting spell of a train wreck. But then, I'm a sucker for dazzling undertows and Moricand sure fits the bill. Really, this is the section that made it all worthwhile for me, and Henry Miller is on fire when he's incensed (har). It turns him into a comic genius. So, yep, not a bad landlocked beach read, and some definite high points.

A rambling read with moments of brilliance and prescient insight, wonderful vignettes of Big Sur, and far flung topics. Worth reading, particularly if you plan to visit Big Sur.

Legend. One of the best books I think I've read. Profound.

like all of them, one of HM's best...

Aged Henry Miller is a real treat. Big Sur is still as it was then. Truth is still mysterious and life is still beautiful. Miller rambles about joy and suffering, loveless marriage and watercolor painting, being a neighbor and raising children on the mountainous coast. Read the whole thing or the first thirty pages, doesn’t matter to me.

After Colossus of Maroussi this was my second favorite book Miller. If you are looking for a story that begins at point A and ends somewhere around Z (in other words that has a plot), this isn't the book for you. If you love Big Sur, can enjoy the ranting of a man who i believe can weave any experience into a fascinating story then pick up this book.

so far so good

Miller covers his term of service in Big Sur, California after his return to America. He's always talking about the good life and this is no exception. Well written and some of the passages in the first 50 pages are among the best I've ever ready from anyone.

One of my favorite books, full of wisdom of place and people and art. And if you've ever experienced the dramatic beauty of Big Sur-unlike any place on earth that I know of-you'll find this captures some of the mystery of the place.

Two warnings, though: near the beginning, there is a boring section where he seems to endlessly talk about his daily chores: a snooze, skim it and get to the good stuff. Second , the last third of the book is a character study of a friend who turns out to be a pedophile, with a nightmarish scene about that, which I actually ripped out of my copy- something I've never done with any book.

Yet the book is so full of life and joy and brilliance that it is well worth reading.

I didn't know that Henry Miller spent 17 years in Big Sur until I was doing research for our trip. I enjoyed this collection of essays, though it had fewer descriptions of the area than I expected. If you are interested in one version of how a writer lives and, if you can get past some of the anti-Semitic and sexist comments, you'll enjoy it.

This book about good-neighborliness is finally read, by me. I like this quote, "Those who do more than asked of them are never depleted. Only those who fear to give are weakened by giving. The art of giving is entirely a spiritual affair. In this sense, to give one's all is meaningless, for there is no bottom where true giving is concerned."
Well, I don't think i have lived up to that yet... This book gives one a lot to chew on, which is why it took me years of stop-starts to get through it. But its good. i like it.